Twine-dispensing device



Nov. 20, 1934. B s PE Y 1,981,388

TWINE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed July 14, 1933 Patented Nov. 20, 1934UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TWINE-DISPENSING DEVICE Benjamin S. PerryProvidence It. I. Application July 14, 1933, .Seria l No. 680,364

"7 Claims. (o1. 242F142) This invention relates to twine holders andFig.7 is a perspective view of the lower part of particularly to adevice of this type having cutthe device showing a modified form ofconstructing or severing means for parting a length of tion of thetwine-guiding and gripping means. the cordor twine from the ball orpackage held The present invention is particularly adapted in theholder. for use with twine-holders such as employed in 60 One object ofthe. invention is to provide a dehomes, oflices, factories and storesfor containing vice of the type indicated having means incorand dispen nW pp n win c rd or the like. porated therein or attachable thereto forcutting It is the common practice for the user to draw ofi off a lengthof the cord or twine after it has been a length of cord or twinefrom theholder with one withdrawn from the holder. v hand and to'cut it off withscissors or a knife 65 th bject of t invention i t provide a held in theother hand.' "This method ofobtaindevice of the type indicated havingmeans for e es ed lengthof twine is quite incenguiding the twine to thecutting or severing'means Vehieht, especially When tying p pa es as theand for holding the end of the twine in position package. must be s 0t'bet hands 16 to be conveniently grasped in the fingers to draw can bed- 70 off a new length after the first length has been It is an Objectof thepresent inven io to p Severed vide a stationary twine-cutter onor. adjacent the Another object of the invention is to pro d holder forsevering a length of the twine after it a device of the type indicatedhaving means for has been drawn Off from the hall other ppydirecting'the twine across the edge of the cutter- The cutter ispreferably attached to the tWihe- 75 blade to sever it as it is drawnthrough the guidholder andby drawing the twine from the S pp yin'gmeans, package and then across the cuttingedge a suit- Another object ofthe invention is to provide able length may'be'severed with the use ofbut one 9, device of the type indicated having a, detachhand." In thismannerthe other handisleft free able cutter-blade which may be removedfor t0 hold the package pe rm other duties. In so sharpening orreplacement. order to properly out the twine means are pro- Anotherobject of the invention is to provide vide'd for ten i nin nd iding itduring the a device of the type indicated having twinev g p a on.guiding means so formed and combined with the Referring fi st 3 and 4 0fhe drawcutter-blade as to prevent the accumulation of mg, the twie-holder 2 herein illustrated is of a 5 lint and dirt liable to clogthecutter and inter common type comp-rising a box-like container {ere tit severing t n, adapted to be secured to the wall by means of Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a screws '3. The box 2 may bopen'at its op a device of the type indicated which is adapted for shownor provided with a suitable cover or lid if economical manufacture fromsheet-metal parts. desired. The ball B of twine is placed within the 90Further objects of the invention are set forth box 2 and thetwine 't orother strand material in the following specification which describessevdrawn off from the center of the ball and passed eral forms ofconstruction of the device, by way through a hole p tu 4 i the frontWall of of example, as illustrated by the accompanying the box to beused as desired.

drawing. In the drawing: Secured to the front wall of the box or holder2 95 Fig. l is a perspective view of a twine-holder by means ofscrews 6is a bracket'or support '7. shown with the present improved twine-cutteror The bracket 7 is constituted by a sheet-metal strip severing devicemounted thereon and illustrating bentinto angular shape to provide afoot 8 which the method of severing a lengthof the twine; seats againstthe bottom of the box 2. The verti- Fig. 2 is a side view'ofthe'twine-severing decal portion of the bracket '7 is offset outwardlyat 10 vice; 9 and narrowed at this point to provide a post 10 Fig. 3 isa sectional planview of the same taken which extends upwardly in spacedparallel relaon line 3-3 of Fig. 2; v tion to the front of the box 2. Asshown in Fig. 3,

, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the device the post 10 is formedinto a-rcuate shape in crosstaken on line 1-4 of Fig. 3; section for apurpose as later explained. The 105 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of adifferent form shoulders 11, formed-on the sides' of the vertical oftwine-holder with the improved twine-cutter portion or post 10 of thebracket '7 by reducing the applied thereto; width thereof, serve asabutments upon which a Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view showing amodicutter-supporting element 15 rests in the manner nedform of mountingfor the cutter-blade; land as later explained. no

observed by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the draw-.

ing, that the arcuate or bowed portion of the post 10 acts tofrictionally engage against the vertical portion 16 of the element 15 toresist any tendency .of the latter to rise thereon. When thecutter-supporting element 15 is sliddown on the post 10 itslower'runners 21 engage against the shoulders 11 on the post to locatethe element in position thereon. I

The upper horizontal arm 17 of the cutter-supporting element 15 isprovided withan aperture 23 through which the twine. is passed and.guided. At one side of the aperture 23 the arm is provided with a slotor opening 24 forming an entrance to the aperture for facilitating theplacing of the twine in the. guide.

v The lower arm 18 of the element 15 is formed on one side with acurvededge 27 from which projectsv a lateral ear 25 bent over in-theform of a loop as indicated in Figs. 1, 4 and 6. The upperinwardlyprojecting portion of the bent ear 25 is formed with a curvededge 26 which overlies and conforms to the shape of. a correspondingedge 28 on the under part of the ear,- thus forming a double guard andguide for the edge of the cutter-blade or knife 30, to be laterdescribed, which rests on the arm 18'. As shown in Fig. 4, the ear 25 ispreferably offset or depressed at 29 beneath the level of the arm 18 sothat the edge 28 underlies the blade 30 at a slight distance therebelow.The edge 26 of the upper bent portion of the ear 25 is likewise spacedabove the top of the blade 30 and due to this construction a vent oropening is provided at either side of the cutting edge of the blade "30so that lint and dust cannot. collect between the blade and the edges ofthe guard.

The knife 30 is constitutedby a substantially rectangular hardened bladesharpened on one or both edges as at 31. A safety-razor blade may beemployed as the cutter but preferably a blade of smaller size is used.The cutting edge 31 of the blade or knife 30 extends outwardly from' thecurved edge 27 of the arm 18 at an angle to the edges of the guard 25 toprovide a relatively acute V-shaped opening or notch 32 into which thetwine may be drawn to present it to the edge of the knife. z

The knife or blade 30 is secured to the arm 18 of the element 15 bymeans of an overlying sheetmetal retainer or. plate 35 of substantiallythe same shape as the blade. As shown in Fig. '3, the bladeBO andretainer 35 are of wedge-shape in plan view with their lateral edgesconverging toward the cutting edge 31 of the blade. The retainer 35 isprovided with tabs or ears 36 and 37 on its lateral and rearward edgeswhich are passed through slits in the arm 18 and bent over on theunderside thereofto secure the blade 30 to the arm. The side tabs 36prevent lateral movement of the blade 30 while the tab 37 prevents itsrearward displacement; The blade 30 is thus-secured firmly to the arm 18of the supporting element 15 to prevent it from sliding or slipping outof place. With the blade 30 fastened in place asdescribed the folded car25 which overlapsits forward end and extends rearwardly along itssharpened edge provides a safety element or guard to prevent the usershand from contacting with the blade.

The above described severing device operates in use as follows: A ball Bor other type of supply-package of cord, string or twine is placed inthe holder 2 and the leading end of the twine threaded through theaperture 4 in the front of the holder. The twine isthen entered into theguide-opening 23 in the arm 1'7..by passing it laterally through theslot 24. The end of the twine t is thus held suspended from the upperarm 1'7 of the cutter-supporting element 15.

When it is. desired to detach a portion of twine from the ball B thesuspended end of the strand t is grasped in the manner as illustrated inFig. 1 and drawn downwardly to measure off a suitable length. After therequired length has been drawn off from the ball B the twine is enteredin the V-shaped slot 32 between the cutting edge 31 of the blade 30 andthe curved edges 26 and 28 of the guard 25 on the lower arm 18. The endis then drawn forwardly to cause the vstrandto be wedged by the guard 25against the cutting edge 31 of the blade 30, whereupon the lengthibeyondthe blade will be cut off squarely without tendency to fray-the severedends. The wedging action of the guard 25 upon the twine tends to hold ittaut during the cutting operation .to prevent it from unwinding from thesupply-package. After the length has been severedthe end of the'twinestill attached to the ball isretainedby the guard 25, thus leaving aportion suspendedv between the upper arm 17. and lower arm'18 'inconvenient position to be grasped fordrawing off another lengthwhenrequired.

Fig.5 of the drawing illustrates the twine-cutter or severing deviceapplied. to a twine-holder of different type. In holders of this lattertype conical packages C of cord or twineare held in a horizontalposition and the'end of the strand is drawn off over the smaller end ofthe cone. The holder 40 as herein illustrated comprises a circularback-plate 41 which maybe fastened to a wall orother support by means ofscrews 42'. Em-

bodied in the back-plate 41 are means in the form.

of spring-fingers, not herein shown, which grip the interior of the tube0 upon which the twine is wound to hold the package C firmly in place;Extending forwardly from the back-plate 41 is a lower horizontal arm 43which is bent upwardly at its forward extremity to provide a post 44having a; punched hole or aperture 45, through which the strand draws tothe cutter.

The twine-cutter or severing devicemay embody a blade-supporting element15 such as first described'mounted on the post 44 by slidingfits runners20 and 21 down therealong; the post 44 being preferably of curved orarcuate shape in J cross-section with its convex surface binding againstthe upright portion 16 of the element 15 to retain the latter in place.It will-be noted that in the construction of. the twine-holder shown inFig. 5' the bracket 7 used with the box 2 is dispensed with. and thedevice mounted directly on the holder.

Fig. 6 of the drawingillustrates a modified form of construction formounting the cutterblade on its support. --In this embodiment of theinvention the blade 48 hasa different contour with its endsof arcuateshape adapted to be en gaged by a. pair of spaced ears 49-.punched fromthe lower arm 18. and bent over tooverlie the blade. The ears 49 arecurved. on-theirsides with the radius of curvature considerably lessthan the radius of the arcuate ends of the blade 48. When the blade 48is slipped into place beneath the ears 49 the edges of their curvedportions bind against the edges of the blade at four points to hold theblade from sliding or slipping out of place on its support. The lastdescribed construction thus provides an extremely eflicient yetinexpensive method of mounting the cutterblade.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated a modified form of the guard for thetwine-cutter or severing device. In this embodiment of the invention aflange 52 is bent up from one side of the lower arm 18 of theblade-supporting element 15. The guard-flange 52 is shaped to curveoutwardly away from the cutting edge 31 of the blade 30 to provide areentrant mouth for guiding the twine against the blade. A relativelynarrow slot 53 extends longitudinally of the flange 52 with its edgesoverlapping or straddling the sharpened edge of the blade 30 throughouta portion of its length; it being noted that the edges of the slot 53are spaced away from the top and bottom of the blade so as to providefor the escape of lint or fibers formed by the cutting operations.

The method of operation of the device constructed in accordance with thelast described embodiment is substantially the same as before explained.The twine is drawn off from the supply-package and into the opening ornotch 32 between the flange 52 and the cutting edge 31 of the blade 30where it is wedged against the edge of the blade and tensioned as it issevered. After the severing operation a length of the twine remainsbelow the arm 17 for grasping in the fingers at the next operation.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the present inventionprovides a particularly simple and efficient twine-cutter for thepurposes specified. The parts of the device are constructed fromsheet-metal stampings to render them economical to manufacture wherebythe complete article may be sold at a comparatively low price.

As a feature of the improvement the present invention provides means forpositively gripping the twine during the severing operation to preventit from being drawn oif from the supplypackage; and the device alsooperates to maintain a short length of twine suspended from the supplyin convenient position to grasp in the fingers at repeated cutting-offoperations.

As a further feature of improvement the double guard for thecutter-blade, besides acting to guide the twine against the sharpenededge of the blade, also serves to guard the blade to prevent accidentalcontact of the operators fingers therewith.

By the use of the present improved device only one hand is required todraw off a length of twine and sever it and thus the other hand is leftfree to perform other duties. The invention thus provides for greaterconvenience of operation resulting in a saving of time and effort.

While I have herein shown and described several preferred embodiments ofthe device, by way of example, it is obvious that other modificationsmay be made in the structure and arrangement of its parts withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, withoutlimiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a holder for aball or package of twine or the like, means to guide the twine as itdraws from the ball or package, a cutter spaced from said guiding meansand comprising a sharpened blade disposed in a plane at right-angles tothe path of the twine as it leads through the guiding means, and a guardextending opposite the side of the cutter blade in inclined relation tothe edge thereof.

2. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of means forholding a ball or package of twine or the like, means for guiding thetwine as it draws from the ball or package, a cutter spaced at adistance below the guiding means and disposed in a plane at right-anglesto the path of the twine as it leads through the guiding means, and'aguard for the cutter having parallel faces disposed on opposite sides ofthe cutter in inclined relation to the sharpened edge thereof.

3. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a holder for aball or package of twine or the like, a pair of spaced arms mounted onthe holder, one'of said arms provided with a guide for the twine as itdraws off from the ball or package, a cutter-blade mounted on the otherarm and disposed in a plane at right-angles to the path of the twine asit leads through the guide, and a guard having parallel guiding facesdisposed on opposite sides of and at an inclination to the sharpenededge of the cutter-blade.

4. In combination, a holder for a ball orpackage of twine or the like, apost on the holder, a. cutter-supporting element having means engagingthe post to attach it to the holder, said supporting element having aguide through which the twine leads as it draws off from the ball orpackage, acutter-blade on the supporting element arranged in spacedrelation to the twine-guide and disposed in a plane at right-angles tothe path of the twine as it leads through the guide, and a guard on thesupporting element overlapping the sides of the blade and inclined tothe sharpened edge thereof.

5. In a twine-cutter, the combination of a U- shaped element havingopposite parallel arms disposed in diiferent planes, one of said armsbeing formed with an opening for guiding the twine, a guard on theopposite arm having opposite parallel guiding faces, and a bladesupported on the second arm with its sharpened edge projecting betweenthe opposite guiding faces of the guard in inclined relation thereto.

6. In a twine-cutter, the combination of a support formed withprojecting angular ears having arcuately-shaped portions, and a bladehaving arcuately-shaped ends engaging the arcuate portions of the earsat four points to hold the blade in fixed position on the support.

7. In a twine-cutter, the combination of a plate-like support having aportion bent at rightangles thereto and extended in a flange divergingfrom the lateral edge of the support, said flange formed with alongitudinal slot, and a cutterblade mounted on said support with oneend of its sharpened edge projecting into the slot of the flange at anangle to the edges thereof.

BENJAMIN S. PERRY.

